For many students, the only thing that has kept them plugging along through reading period and exam week has been knowing that at the end of it all, they would be hopping on a plane or a bus or a train and hightailing it out of here. Be their destination a tropical island, an alpine slope or just Mom's kitchen, many students have eagerly awaited the chance to break out of the Harvard bubble.

But some students will be staying put. For them, the lure of travel and relaxation can't compete with the chance to spend a week at Harvard free of papers, tests and other obligations.

"I really love the whole college thing except for the part with the work," said Will L. Aronson '04. "So intersession is a great time to get the atmosphere of college without any of the drawbacks."

But there are many students for whom the decision to stay at Harvard is neither optional nor work-free.

For many seniors, intersession provides an excellent opportunity to work on (or begin) their senior theses.

Dean of Undergraduate Education Susan Pedersen '82 remembers using intersession her senior year to "take advantage of a week of uninterrupted peace and quiet to work on my thesis." Pedersen wrote in an e-mail message that she borrowed the apartment of a friend who was going out of town for the week, and "became a hermit on Harvard Street for five or six days."

Some things never change.

Simon W. Grote '01, a history concentrator, said he will be spending this week toiling away on his thesis.